Runelords 36.0 - Fixing Past Mistakes
After speaking to Luna, Virgil rode a horse back to Turtleback Ferry once more. He spoke to Rajdeep: he couldn't cast Sending or Breath of Life, and if there were scrolls of them in the church, they had fallen through the cracks of his filing and he didn't know of them. Virgil kept his reasons for needing these spells to himself, though his agitation was plain and Rajdeep apologized. Virgil also inquired as to whether Meli had arrived in town and if the boogeyman attacks had stopped; the mayor confirmed that she had been by a day or so after they had left, and had told him that nothing further had happened, though by this point that information was nearly a week old. Virgil thanked him again, and returned to Fort Rannick after unsuccessfully looking for materials Luna would need for a ritual, and successfully buying her a meal. Hours later, after enjoying a hearty meal of scorched forest creatures, Khyr and Silthior returned to the fort. Luna saw the pair off, asking once more if she should start preparing a ritual to try and cure Khyr. The aelurian brushed her off, saying it promised to be an interesting experience, and she dryly chided him, explaining how it was likely to be somewhat of his last, as undead don't generally experience sensations and comforts to the degree that other beings do. Khyr brushed her off again, and the pair flew away on Silthior's back. Flying through the afternoon and early evening, the group set down to camp for the night. The next day, Virgil spotted Romeo flying, and had Silthior slow down so that the iron raven could catch up. Romeo greeted them in his loudmouth way, laughing that Virgil might have some competition, and led them to Eamon and Shadliss, who weren't far. They had been walking and camping for days, and though their food was running low, they had had no problems. Shortly after reconvening, Virgil gave Khyr a casting of Locate Creature so that he and Silthior could look for the still-missing Alicia and go eat. The pair flew off, leaving Virgil to explain the developments that had happened. As Virgil tried to explain why they had no real options, he verbally realized that perhaps there were magical resources in the fort at Jorgenfist; it was decided that they would return to explore more thoroughly, and hopefully find a solution that wasn't 'kill Khyrralien'. After some magically-aided searching, Khyr crossed paths with Alicia. She was grateful for the assistance and was glad to see Khyr again, not least of all because his group had left with what she hoped was the clue she had been looking for. Silthior paused to eat a snack of some toasted trees before flying them back to Eamon, Virgil and Shadliss. Virgil and Khyr thanked him for all his help and he flew back to Jorgenfist alone, inviting them to hang out again sometime. Walking, the five made their way back to Jorgenfist. Virgil explained to Alicia that their business there wasn't complete yet, as the army still hadn't been disrupted in any way, and she was welcome to join or sit out as she preferred. She wondered about the mummy box, and Virgil told her it was with their teammate in Fort Rannick, and Alicia nodded: she would accompany them into Jorgenfist again, since she felt there was more to be found there, and that she wanted the contents of that box, so it was easier to just stay with them for now. They approached the valley by nightfall, but the group decided to conduct a night raid. Sneaking in the same way as before, they found that the treants were now moving about on patrols, rather than sitting stationary. More guards had been posted at the doors and across the grounds. The fort was on high alert. They made their way cautiously into what the Shivering Ones had told them was a supply building, but found that it was just a collection of mundane weapons and siege equipment: nothing that held value to them. Moving to the next building, that they knew was where the 'snake-ladies' lived, they opted to climb onto the roof and enter through the chimney rather than risk opening the only door. Khyr shimmied down the chimney and found himself suspended over some embers, looking into a fine room. Two lamias, snakelike women wearing what appeared to be religious vestments, lounged inside, and it was difficult to tell whether they were asleep or not. An altar was set up with a relief of a strange, abstract assortment of shapes and points; Khyr couldn't recognize the symbols. Crawling back up, Khyr reported. The group quietly argued about what was best, and eventually Khyr scuttled back down, intent on sneaking past the hopefully-sleeping lamias. The others continued to debate until they determined that they might as well just let Khyr, the stealthiest of them, investigate on his own. They tossed him down a letter explaining as much before Virgil turned to leave: if Khyr was going to handle that building, then they should go look into the pit while they had a chance before one of them eventually raised the alarm.Category:Rise of the Runelords